Currently, a number of different types of devices are available for monitoring human subjects in a non-invasive manner. For example, heart function can be monitored in a subject through the use of electrodes, which must be attached to the skin of the subject. Although non-invasive, such equipment is nevertheless uncomfortable for the subject, who is attached to a network of cables and wired sensors. In addition, such equipment is very expensive, limiting its use to hospitals and other medical settings in which both the cost and the discomfort of the subject can be justified. Furthermore, subjects may become anxious when examined by medical personnel, thereby significantly altering the normal readings for these subjects.
However, there are many different situations in which non-invasive monitoring of a human subject is desired. For example, such monitoring could be very useful as part of the overall health maintenance of the human subject, and could be used in order to detect any type of deterioration in the physiological condition of the subject before a concomitant deterioration in the health of the subject becomes noticeable. Examples of adverse physiological conditions which could be detected with regular non-invasive monitoring include but are not limited to excessive weight gain or less; arrhythmia and other heart conditions; incipient diabetes in the form of improper glucose metabolism; and loss of lung capacity or other problems with respiration.
Heart rate and blood pressure are important factors in determining the state of a person's health and the physical condition of a person's body in response to physical or emotional stress. Periodic monitoring of these physical parameters is particularly important for individuals having cardiac disease and/or lowered cardiac functioning, or high blood pressure. However, physically healthy individuals may also wish to periodically monitor their heart rate and blood pressure in stressful situations, for example when engaging in strenuous exercise.
In order to support regular monitoring of human subjects in their normal environment, such as in the home and at the office for example, the equipment must be non-invasive and easy to use. The equipment would then be able to monitor at least one physiological parameter of the user, without requiring the user to perform any complicated actions and/or to operate complex devices. Indeed, it would be highly preferred for the equipment to be incorporated as part of the regular daily living routine of the subject, since the requirement for any additional or special actions on the part of human subject is likely to result in decreased compliance. In addition, the equipment should be robust yet inexpensive.
For ease of use, monitoring equipments carried by the user, may be used. Those monitoring equipments are required to be ready for receiving an impromptu call initiated by the medical center. However, keeping the monitoring equipment active, ready to receive a call, reduces the live time of its battery. Therefore there is a need for a system that enables the Medical Service Center to make an impromptu call to the monitoring equipment, while the monitoring equipment is not active (in sleeping mode) without losing the information that is transferred from the Medical Center to the monitoring equipment.
Furthermore, preferably the subject should be able to transmit the collected medical information and to communicate verbally with a medical personnel. Also, medical personnel should be able to view the subject and the data being collected. In order to make the remote medical service available to wide variety of users the communication with medical personal may be carried over common communication link such as a regular telephone lines.
In case that the medical personal would like to initiate a call over common telephone line, the user has to respond to the telephone ring. In some cases the user may be in a certain physical condition that prevents him from responding to the ring. In other cases the user may be unable to control the volume of the conversation etc.
Therefore these actions should be possible remotely, without the subject being physically present with the medical personnel. Unfortunately, a system is not currently available.
Furthermore common communication system over telephone line are using DTMF signals to transfer control and/or data. On the other hand common audio/video conferencing endpoints may suppress DTMF signals. This contradiction places challenges in front of a designer who wishes to deliver affordable system for remote medical observation using audio/video/data communication over regular telephone line.
Therefore there is a need for a system and a method for audio/visual/data medical monitoring system that communicates over regular telephone line and using portable monitoring equipments. Such a system will spread the opportunity to benefit from better medical services to wide variety of population.